Well, if Apple was serious about trying to make AppleWorks a viable, competitive product, they wouldn't have stopped updating it in 2003. :-)

The fact is that, for better or worse, the standard in the world is Microsoft Office, so it's a good thing there's a Mac version. Even Apple recognizes this and mentions this in one of their "Get a Mac" ads as a selling point.

If using MS Office for Mac helps to bring more people over to the Mac world, then I have no problem endorsing its use.